The Tudor King and I

 

 

It's been a lovely week for us, the highlight being attending the hubby's official PhD Graduation ceremony! As a newly anointed Doctor of Philosophy he got to wear this fab ceremonial outfit for the day. It's very Tudor-esque, especially the hat! I felt like I was with a Tudor King or at least a member of the court lol.  Anyway, I've posted some pics of us both on the day, I hope you like them - I don't normally post personal stuff here, but I wanted to document it for virtual posterity :D

 

 

 

I also made a couple of sales this week, of some special pieces - a Steampunk inspired piece containing a Purple Glass cabochon, and my beloved Bicolour Lemon-Smokey Quartz Paisely Necklace. See the pictures below :) I have also been busy working on prototypes for my Arts shop, and have come up with some interesting ideas for combining my jewellery and mixed media work to create some Gothic, Pirate themed pieces. I am pretty excited about the prospect, so watch this space :) All in all I would say it's been a pretty fab week :)

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by :)

Thanks for looking ...



Samantha Braund

New Acorns and Golden Oldies

Smokey Quartz gemstones and Sterling silver acorns

This post shows pieces going into the shop that represent new beginnings while reflecting on the past. I read in a Psychology book recently about how it can be beneficial to look back at the ups and downs of your life and work out how you got through the toughest times, and to acknowledge that you always did get back up again. You are meant to learn lessons from your own history and take reassurance from it. Bearing this in mind I created this piece as an ode to new beginnings . I have a strand of these smooth tumbled Smokey Quartz gemstones, that resembled acorns, others can see grapes, buds and even olives - what can you see? I sculpted the stalks , vines and tendrils in Sterling silver. You can see from the picture of the piece in my hand how small and intricate the piece really is (below)





By way of a coincidence, I also found this significant piece I made years ago. This "Golden Oldie" was created at the height of some really tough times I was going through, and had no sense of control over my situation. This piece represented something of a creative breakthrough in my wirework, which gave me such a sense of hope and serenity in the midst of all that hate being thrown in my direction. I guess I should value the fact that my art and creative outlets have always comes to my rescue whenever I have fallen down, I will always be grateful for that. I hope to get these two pieces in the shop within the next few days :)


14 carat gold and microfaceted  Citrine gemstone





Thanks for stopping by




Samantha Braund

Getting Back Into My Groove

(Selena Necklace - inspired by Lunar cycles - contains a White beryllium Gemstone set in Sterling Silver)

I can't believe how long it has been since my last post! I have been very active both in the studio and online, yet I haven't blogged any updates. The short version, is that the last month has involved me getting back into my jewellery creating groove. I have made some sales (more on this later), and have been making new pieces at a fairly regular rate, and have even started to put effort into metal clay experimenting (hush hush lol)

I remember when I started out a few years ago now. I was bedbound with a chronic back problem and had left behind my professional job in Medicine. My outlet for dealing with everything was this jewellery making outlet. I never really thought I would be any good at it, and the things I made were promptly stuffed into boxes all around the house lol. My ambitions were to bring in just enough money to pay for my passion, and did not extend beyond that intially.

So much has changed since those days - but one of the most rewarding aspects of this kind of work is how my little fantasy creations are of such significance to others. Engagement rings, Commitment rings, Proposal gifts, Significant birthdays, Anniversaries and now a Bride will wear one of my Bridal Coral Drop Necklaces to walk down the aisle!! Being involved in these real life narratives has been incredibly fulfilling, and unexpected. As a Doctor I dealt with the darker side of things, and was immersed in the pyschosocial problems of my patients - can you imagine the contrast therefore of now being exposed only to the sunnier slices of peoples lives. It is the equivalent of getting a natural high, and is life affirming, even if on the surface what I do now is so frivolous compared to what I used to do....funny the way everything works out isn't it?

Anyway, enough introspection and onto the pretties.... the two pics below are the latest pieces to be sold, and the other photos are of new items that will be going into the shop


(Gold/Green Freshwater Pearls, Fine Silver, Sterling Silver Barnacle Cluster Necklace)



(Copper Red Freshwater Pearl, Sterling Silver - Bridal Coral Drop Necklace)


(Labradorite Gemstone and Sterling Silver SeaWitch Necklace)


(Citrine Cubic Zirconia Gemstone and Sterling Silver - Fire and Ice Necklace)



(Rose Quartz and Sterling Silver Necklace)


(Smokey Quartz Gemstone, Fine Silver, Sterling Silver Contessa Necklace)


(Copper Red Freshwater Pearls, Fine Silver, Sterling Silver Barnacle Cluster Necklace)

As you can see I have been busy! The Seawitch Necklace is inspired by The Little Mermaid fable and is already in the shop, along with the Fire and Ice Necklace and Selena. The other should be going in this weekend. The rest of the weekend will be spent continuing with experimentations and working on a new piece. No real rest, but the sun will will be shining so thats a bonus :) Thanks for looking ...



Samantha Braund

Paisely Easter Holidays

I'm back to making jewellery now that the Easter Holidays are here, and I'm on a well earned break from university work. This is the latest piece, a rather substantial  sized necklace containing a large faceted bicoloured Lemon-Smokey Quartz gemstone. The whole design is inspired by Paisely patterns. I took my time over it, and included a couple of sections of coiled wire - a technique I haven't used in forever... it was great to feel I had the time and the sense of calm to mix it up with my wirework methods. I think it turned out very well in the end...

I took a look back and noted that I hadn't fabricated a new piece of jewellery in almost a year! It was strange coming back to the discipline, but I loved every minute of it. So far,  my holidays have involved finishing a repair/commission piece for someone, dealing with sales, and taking pictures of new pieces for the shop. I have been so neglectful of the shop, and yet it does manage to tick along without my intereference lol. Anyway, I will be editing some of the new photos and the result will mean that there will indeed be more items in my shop - at last lol.

I am also in the process of designing a new metal clay/wire sculpted piece with a gorgeous Labradorite gemstone. I am excited about the prospect and am also just a tad nervous about it. Uni wise I have organised to meet up with a couple of tutors in Metal and Glass workshops in April , so I am keeping my hand in there too...no rest for the wicked as they say







Well thats it for now, hopefully there will be more prettiness and items in the shop soon...




Samantha Braund